The Images of Science and Science Education

Abstract

This book portrays the profile of the images of science in relation to Chinese culture. As a science teacher educator, my primary interest is in the field of science education. The empirical study described in the previous chapter explored the images of science held by a group of Chinese secondary school science teachers. From a cultural perspective, the inquiry focused on the nexus between the images of science and the cultural context within which the images are constructed. The study showed that some issues related to the nature of science are significant in understanding teachers’ images of science. These issues involve debates about scientific realism and universalism. In order to provide a theoretical context of the nature of science within which the discussion of teachers’ images of science can be located, this chapter first reviews issues that are related to scientific realism and universalism. Then teachers’ functional images of science as emerged from the empirical study are revisited and the implications for science education in China are considered. Finally, the chapter, as well as the book, concludes by briefly reviewing the past and looking forward to the future regarding the images of science constructed in the Chinese cultural context.